Contrary to my otherwise geeky exterior, I’m a pretty big football fan. As a result, so is my son. And while he seems to have the same genetic disease of small person-itis that kept me from playing sports beyond an intramural level, it’s hard not to consider the possibility that he might play football in high school. It’s a topic that bears thinking about, especially since so much recent research has emphasized the dangers of the sport.

Concussions and football have made big news lately, and that’s not likely to go away anytime soon. In high school football alone, there are an estimated 40,000 concussions around the country every year. And while the immediate effects of a concussion can disappear in a relatively short amount of time, the brain damage caused can emerge decades later in the form of serious medical problems or mental illness.

Naturally, there’s a lot of research being put into preventing concussions, but a recent study indicates that all the advances in helmet technology still don’t do much to stop concussions from happening. The study, which involved more than 1,300 students at 36 different high schools, found that the concussion rate for students wearing new helmets is about the same as it is with older models.

On the bright side, this means that parents who can’t afford the latest $500 helmet from Riddell don’t need to feel like they’re terrible parents. On the other hand, it means that modern technology really hasn’t done much at all to change the fact that about 1 in 12 high school players are going to suffer at least one concussion playing football.

So how do you talk to your kids about that? That’s the question that really stumps me.

My son still has a while to go before kindergarten, let alone little league, so hopefully some new breakthrough will make the game safer. But I have to assume that’s not going to happen. No matter how much padding the players have or what sort of helmet they’re wearing, football is still a violent sport that’s going to lead to a lot of hard collisions and injuries.

I’m not one for banning my son from playing football if he wants to. There are, after all, a lot of benefits to playing the sport. And if I’m going to start banning my kids from doing things that might hurt them, I might as well also ban hockey, hunting, and driving a car.

Talking to kids about the potential dangers of what they’re doing is always a must, but I’m not sure how effective a discussion about concussions will be to a high school student. The real danger from concussions doesn’t hit until years down the line, and most teenagers aren’t thinking about the quality of life they’ll have in their 40s. Even reaching 40 years old is an alien concept to them. Also, any conversation needs to walk the delicate balance between warning the kid about the dangers of the sport without making it sound like football is some sort of deathtrap.

If my son gets into football in school, I think the one thing I’ll probably do in hopes of keeping him safe is reinforce the importance of good fundamentals. Wrap up when you tackle instead of leading with your head. Don’t spend time doing some stupid celebration dance when the play is still live. Stay aware of the field around you at all times. That stuff won’t prevent all injuries, but it will minimize the exposure to danger and also make the kid a better player.

It’s a shame that the most common exposure to football is through the NFL, because there’s a lot of idiocy that goes on in a professional football game. I don’t want to see the NFL continue to add more ticky-tack rules that break up the flow of the game, but it would be nice if more players handled themselves with some degree of maturity. If I made a drinking game where I took a shot every time a player led with his helmet instead of wrapping up on a tackle or when somebody starts a celebration dance before the play is even over, I’d be completely blitzed (ba-dum-shh) well before the end of the first quarter.

Maybe that’s step one in my hypothetical talk about football to my son: it’s a dangerous game, but if you’ve got to play, don’t do what those idiots in the NFL are doing.

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2 Responses to Is there a safer football helmet? The answer will surprise you

HappyHippiesays:

October 29, 2013 at 3:33 pm

I live in the South, where football is king. Boys start playing at around 5. Just about everyone I know with sons has sons who play football. And every single one has dealt with at least one concussion. One kid has had 8 concussions – and he is only 11 years old. And nobody seems to get that this is a problem! One mom finally pulled her 12 year old son after he got hit so hard during practice (practice!!) that he didn’t know who he was until they had been in the ER for hours. He continues to have seizures two months later and he has started speech therapy. These are not high school kids. They are not even kids playing on some elite travel team. They are kids playing community rec football. And these are just the kids of moms I know personally.

All I can say is uh-uh. No way. My kids’ brains are the most precious things they have. They’ve got great big astonishingly amazing brains and there is no way I’m going to let them risk them. Fortunately, we are not a sporty family, so I don’t think it will ever be an issue. But I agree that either the sportsmanship of the game needs to change or the equipment.

michikodesusays:

October 29, 2013 at 6:48 pm

Nothing will ever completely protect our children and other people from anything. You can still have head trauma while wearing a helmet riding a bike and you can get hurt while wearing your seat belt in just a minor fender-bender. Kids can get concussions playing other sports such as soccer, field hockey, softball/baseball, cheerleading, ice skating, gymnastics…just to name a few.

Yes, football bears the brunt of concussions (at least in the news), but proper coaching and and teaching and reinforcing proper basic fundamentals can lower the risks. If I have to teach my son how to tackle properly (my husband never played football but I learned how by playing rugby) and be tackled properly I will. I will also be mindful of how the coach teaches his players. If he’s one of those coaches that teaches “win by any means necessary” and doesn’t show proper techniques, then my son will not play on that team.

But in my honest opinion and as an athlete myself, I think that people sometimes rely too much on their equipment and not on their ability and that’s where much of the fault lies. When that happens, most players start to abandon form and proper technique for results and that will always lead to injury.

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